Bronx, N.Y. – (February 21, 2018) – With the weather report at sunny and a record 70 degrees, it was a picture perfect day in the Bronx for the Fordham baseball home opener at Houlihan Park. The Rams took full advantage of the day, as Fordham came away with a 3-2 win over the Army West Point Black Knights behind stellar pitching and some clutch hitting.
With the win, Fordham improved to 2-1-1 on the year, while Army West Point fell to 1-3.
After getting out of a couple of early jams in the first and second inning, Fordham kicked off the home season with a bang, as freshman
Nick Labella connected on his first career home run, a solo shot to left in the third inning to give Fordham a 1-0 lead.
The Rams made it 2-0 in the fourth, as
Alvin Melendez drew a walk to open the frame, stole second, and advanced to third on a balk.
Justin Bardwell then came through with a two-out single to left to score Melendez.
The Black Knights cut the deficit in half in the top of the fifth on a bases loaded single by Jon Rosoff, which scored Jax Luzinski from third. However, the damage stopped there as
Brandon Nance got John McKenna to hit into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.
Army West Point then had another chance to tie the game in the sixth with runners at the corners and two outs, but the Rams were able to catch Rosoff on a first and third rundown before the tying run scored, keeping it a 2-1 game.
Fordham regained a two-run edge in the seventh, as Bardwell lined a one-out double right over the bag and down the right field line and scored on a single up the middle by Labella, making it a 3-1 game.
The Black Knights still had some fight left in the eighth, when Matt
Kyle Martin earned his first save of the season on Wednesday.
Hudgins hit a solo home run to right center, his first of the year. Army West Point later got the tying run into scoring position but Fordham reliever
Kyle Martin struck out pinch-hitter Garrett Houston to end the inning.
Martin then posted a 1-2-3 ninth inning to record his first save of the season, going the final 1.1 innings without allowing a hit with two strikeouts.
John Stankiewicz (1-0) was credited with the win, allowing just one hit over the first 2.1 innings with three strikeouts.
Matt Mikulski tossed two innings of relief with four strikeouts with
Brian Weissert adding three strikeouts in 1.1 hitless innings. Nance and
Joseph Quintal also pitched one inning each.
At the plate, Labella was 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI, while Bardwell was also 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Melendez tacked on a 1-for-3 day with two stolen bases and a run scored with
C.J. Vazquez posting a pair of hits and his first multi-hit game.
The Rams are next in action on Friday, February 23
rd, when the Rams open a three-game series at South Florida, beginning at 7:00 PM.
